The Australian Trucking Association has announced the 2016 winners of six of its prestigious National Trucking Industry Awards.
The awards were presented at the ATA Foundation Sponsors 25th anniversary Gala Awards Dinner on the Gold Coast on Saturday. The dinner was part of Trucking Australia 2016.
The winners are:
Don Watson Memorial Award for conspicuous achievement in furthering the industry’s objectives
Doug McMillan (Wodonga, VIC)
Outstanding Contribution to the Australian Trucking Industry
Bryan Smith, Rocky’s Own Transport (Rockhampton, QLD)
National Professional Driver of the Year
Nigel Felton, All Purpose Transport (Underwood, QLD)
Trucking Industry Woman of the Year
Melissa Taylor, Taylor’s Removals and Storage (Toowoomba, QLD)
National Training Excellence Award
All Purpose Transport (Berrinba, QLD)
TruckSafe John Kelly Memorial Award for excellence in the TruckSafe program
Fellows Bulk Transport (Deniliquin, NSW)
The Don Watson Memorial Award honours conspicuous achievement in furthering the industry’s objectives. The award was presented to ATA director and industry stalwart Doug McMillan, who retired from the ATA board at Trucking Australia 2016.
Among his many achievements, Mr McMillan led the campaign against an external Hume Highway bypass of Albury, in favour of a four lane freeway through the city and the construction of what is now the Spirit of Progress bridge across the Murray River.
“I am really pleased, and I am just proud,” Mr McMillan said.
The Outstanding Contribution to the Australian Trucking Industry Award went to Bryan Smith, the CEO of Rocky’s Own Transport. Under Mr Smith’s leadership, Rocky’s Own has been involved in a wide range of safety initiatives, including piloting the fatigue management standards that went on to become Advanced Fatigue Management, implementing satellite tracking and developing a new integrated mapping system to plan safer routes.
“Successful organisations very rarely are the result of one individual. More times than not, it’s the result of a group of individuals with a common goal. That is very much the case with our organisation, and I thank them all,” Mr Smith said.
The National Professional Driver of the Year, Nigel Felton, started as an owner driver in 1999 and first contracted to All Purpose Transport in 2003. Nigel was one of the first drivers to complete his Certificate III in Driving Operations under All Purpose Transport’s ‘Project APT’ program. He is now an in-house driver trainer for the company.
“If you were to ask all the drivers in the room, if they cut themselves, they don’t bleed blood, they bleed oil. Trucking is in our blood. This is an industry that is vital. If we don’t truck, Australia stops. And it’s true,” he said.
The National Trucking Industry Woman of the Year, Melissa Taylor from Taylor’s Removals and Storage, said she wanted trucking to be an industry of choice.
“I want, in front of you today, to give a pledge that I will do everything I can to bring the trucking industry to those generations that are now coming through, and to show them what an incredible industry we have,” Ms Taylor said.
“I want it to be an industry of choice, not an industry that we just fall into because we’ve been born into it, or because there may not have been another option, but it’s been chosen because that’s where we want to be,” she said.
The National Training Excellence Award was won by All Purpose Transport of Berrinba, Queensland. All Purpose Transport now has the most qualified driver workforce in Australia, thanks to Project APT.
“We all share the same kind of values, which are the safety and welfare of our people, training and great customer service. If we keep on investing in the safety and welfare of our people, and their training, the end result will be great customer service, and the profitability and sustainability of our businesses and the transport industry as a whole,” Belinda Polglase from APT said.
The TruckSafe John Kelly Memorial Award honours excellence in the ATA’s safety and business accreditation program, TruckSafe. The winner was Fellows Bulk Transport of Deniliquin, NSW.
Accepting the award, Paul Fellows said he used to sit in the classroom and watch the trucks going up and down the Pacific Highway.
“I never dreamed that I would be here accepting such a prestigious award,” Mr Fellows said.
He congratulated the other finalists for the award, Richers Transport and Shackell Transport.
“It’s quite humbling for us to be associated with two such great companies,” he said.
The ATA also honoured two winners of the Bridgestone Bandag Highway Guardian Award, Garth Hayes and Matthew Mitchell. Garth Hayes rescued an injured cyclist without a thought for his own safety; Matthew Mitchell displayed great compassion by comforting a fatally wounded motorist.
The ATA will announce the winners of the Craig Roseneder Award for Technical and Maintenance Excellence in the Workshop and the Castrol Vecton Industry Technical Achievement Award at the Castrol Vecton Awards Dinner at the 2016 Technical and Maintenance Conference in October. Nominations for these awards will open in July.
The National Trucking Industry Awards are sponsored by ATA Foundation Sponsors BP Australia, NTI and Volvo Group Australia; Cummins South Pacific; Austbrokers AEI Transport; DECA Training; Bridgestone and Castrol.
The details of the award winners are attached. A high resolution image of the winners is available by emailing tania.goodacre@truck.net.au.
Media contact: Tania Goodacre (02) 6253 6900 / 0419 485 781
2016 NATIONAL TRUCKING INDUSTRY AWARD WINNERS
Don Watson Memorial Award for conspicuous achievement in furthering the industry’s objectives
Doug McMillan
Wodonga, VIC
Doug McMillan purchased his first truck with his wife, Pam, in 1974, and became involved in industry associations in 1986. He was a director of the Road Transport Forum and then the ATA until June 2016, and the small fleet representative on the ATA Council until he retired from this elected role in 2015.
Doug was the president of ATA member association NatRoad from 1999 to 2001. He won the ATA’s Outstanding Contribution to the Australian Trucking Industry Award in 1996.
Outstanding Contribution to the Australian Trucking Industry
Award sponsors: BP Australia, NTI and Volvo Group Australia
Bryan Smith, Rocky’s Own Transport
Rockhampton, QLD
Following a long career in the meat industry, Bryan Smith joined Rocky’s Own Transport as a Sales Manager in 1996. He rose through the ranks quickly, and became CEO in 2005.
Under his leadership, Rocky’s Own has been involved in a wide range of safety initiatives, including piloting the fatigue management standards that went on to become Advanced Fatigue Management, implementing satellite tracking into the fleet, and the development of a new integrated mapping system to help plan safer routes and manage fatigue.
Bryan is committed to looking after the health and safety of his staff, which has been shown by his implementation of an employee profit sharing scheme, company health scheme and a quit smoking initiative across the company. Bryan is a true leader of the industry and has tirelessly invested his own time working with Government and industry on sustainability and safety initiatives.
National Professional Driver of the Year
Award sponsors: BP Australia, NTI and Volvo Group Australia
Nigel Felton, All Purpose Transport
Underwood, QLD
Nigel Felton started as an owner driver in1999 and first contracted to All Purpose Transport in 2003. Nigel is always keen to develop his skills, and was one of the first drivers to complete his Certificate III in Driving Operations under All Purpose Transport’s ‘Project APT’ program.
Following on from this experience, Nigel approached his management to see if he could be further involved in providing similar training to the rest of the All Purpose Transport fleet, and is now an in-house driver trainer for the company. Nigel was awarded All Purpose Transport’s coveted 2015 ‘Owner Driver of the Year Award’, and was the 2015 QTA Driver of the year.
Trucking Industry Woman of the Year
Award sponsor: Cummins South Pacific
Melissa Taylor, Taylor’s Removals and Storage
Toowoomba, QLD
After pursuing a successful career in retail management, Melissa Taylor became the first woman in four generations to join her family business, Taylor’s Removals and Storage. Her business acumen is credited for transforming Taylor’s Removals from a furniture removal business to a business with international capacity.
Melissa is dedicated to improving pathways into the transport industry, participating in the GenR8 youth engagement program and the ‘Count me in’ program which highlights career opportunities for local women. Melissa has also worked with the Queensland Government and TAFE to offer all employees the opportunity to complete a qualification in their chosen role. A strong supporter of her local arts and community organisations and the QTA’s 2015 Trucking Woman of the Year, Melissa’s attitude is best summed up by her own statement – “why should we be ordinary when we can be extraordinary!”
National Training Excellence Award
Award sponsor: DECA Training
All Purpose Transport
Berrinba, QLD
In 2012, the senior management of All Purpose Transport (APT) realised there was a growing issue with their aging workforce. With an average driver age of 47, APT realised they needed to develop a pipeline for attracting and developing their future workers – Project APT.
Using APT’s in-house driver trainer and in conjunction with the Qld Department of Transport and Main Roads, Project APT provides all APT owner drivers and employees with the opportunity to obtain formal qualifications (Cert III or above), with more than 250 people taking part in this training to date. As a result of this program, APT is proud to say it has the most qualified transport workforce in Australia.
TruckSafe John Kelly Memorial Award to recognise excellence in the TruckSafe program
Award sponsor: Austbrokers AEI Transport
Fellows Bulk Transport
Deniliquin, NSW
Fellows Bulk Transport is a family owned business operated by Paul and Jenny Fellows, and has been operating successfully from its Deniliquin NSW base since 1997. In this time, it has grown from a single vehicle to a fleet of thirteen trucks with operations in all the eastern states, and moves some 300,000 tonnes of product each year.
All FBT vehicles are equipped with GPS tracking devices which can provide instant reports on vehicle status, location, expected ETA and activity. Fellows also own and run the Blighty Grain Storage Facility and Hay Grains. The business prides itself on putting safety first, and says its greatest asset is its team of dedicated staff.
About the ATA: The ATA is the peak body representing the trucking industry. Its members include state and sector trucking associations, major logistics companies and businesses with leading expertise in truck technology. The ATA represents many thousands of trucking businesses, ranging from owner-drivers to large fleets.
Authorised by Christopher Melham, CEO, Australian Trucking Association, 25 National Circuit, Forrest ACT
